Digital Links
The Meaning of Out of Print in the Age of Digital Books
Paper Presentation in a Themed Session Jeffrey R. Di Leo
Up to just a few years ago, the threat of a book going Out of Print (OP) called up the specter of bibliodeath. For readers and scholars, it meant that libraries would be their primary point of access; for authors, it meant that the revenue stream from the title had dried up; and for publishers, it meant that the book was no longer distributed by them to book stores and other customers. Moreover, OP dug an even deeper hole in publishing when considered in conjunction with US tax-law. Prior to the late 1970s, books returned to the publisher could be stored in warehouses and depreciated for tax credit. However, after the IRS’s Thor-Power-Tool decision in the late 1970s rescinded tax credit for warehoused books, it became less profitable for corporate publishers to warehouse books that did not sell. Still, the digitization of books by Project-Gutenberg and others has sent a lot of OP books into the digital realm where they are now openly accessible. Furthermore, since most books published today are produced on digital platforms, their passage into the world of eBooks is nothing more than a brief step in the publishing process when compared to the effort required to scan a book in preparation for digital dissemination. But if OP no longer means out of existence, what does it signify at a time when the advent of digital books provides a stable lifeline for the continuing existence of books that go OP?
Researchers as Publishers: Transformative Social Work Narrative Makers in Academic Publishing
Paper Presentation in a Themed Session Julie L. Drolet
Transformative Social Work is a scholarly refereed journal designed to advance knowledge mobilization in the field of social work. This paper shares how social work researchers founded a new open access journal as a pathway to transform societies and respond to human dynamics in a changing environment. Recognizing the intersectional identities of our global population, this journal takes a future-focused social justice perspective on theory, research, education, practice and policy. The profession of social work urgently needs to transform social work research, practice and policy to meet local and global challenges associated with climate change and environmental degradation, social and health inequities, workplace issues, Indigenous reconciliation, and pressing social issues related to poverty and sustainable development. This calls for ‘social narrative makers’ that bring together students and researchers in academic publishing. The journal offers a publishing space to consider ‘transforming social work’ through a critical and proactive social agenda, that considers equity, diversity, inclusion, and decolonization. This paper discusses a student-supported online journal as an experiential learning opportunity for students to create a sustainable resource for ongoing professional development. New training and mentorship opportunities were created for students to participate in the development and management of the journal in order to acquire new skills in academic writing and publishing, policy and practice excellence, and disciplinary leadership.
Effects of Digital Storytelling in the Construction of the Relationship Experience
Paper Presentation in a Themed Session Mónica Pérez Sánchez
Digital activities increase day after day, netizens are now protagonists of the action on social networks. Participants post content in a context of co-creation, through social interactions that can become powerful statements for or against almost anything. Storytelling comes to life in digital activities, its observation is essential to understand how relationships between people happen, because without knowing each other they act as equals. The objective of this work is to know what causes the interactions between people and how the relationship experience is built from a social position, to achieve an understanding of commercial use. The qualitative methodology uses interpretative content analysis on preselected photographs that are accompanied by stories published on Instagram that allude to Mexican heritage cities. Social networks generate a large amount of data, which is why the systematic integration of these into a multidimensional model is suggested; then, the observations focus on the interactions that are a consequence of the original post, they are from the various users who have seen the post and, in some way, have reacted. The results show that with or without the intention of promoting something, there are publications that manage to captivate or motivate another, therefore, they promote. The power of communication achieves different levels of echo buzz in the audience. The importance of the management of digital stories in social networks is concluded, in favor of products, services and even destinations. Thus, it contributes to the psychological observations of the multidimensional construct in digital social networks.
